4.  The applicant was born in 1960 and lives in Murmansk. At the material time the applicant was an elected member of the Murmansk regional legislature (the “Murmansk Duma”).
5.  At about 1.30 p.m. on 27 April 2003, some police officers stopped the applicant on suspicion of drunk driving and took him to the Severomorsk police station. At the station the applicant became agitated, verbally abusing police officers, grabbing them by the clothing and hitting them. He was then handcuffed.
6.  As the applicant initially refused to give his name, police officers searched his clothing and found an identity card showing him to be a member of the Murmansk Duma. The applicant confirmed that he was a member of the regional legislature. His handcuffs were removed. The chief of the police station, who was away from the station at the time, phoned the duty officer and instructed him to invite the applicant to take an alcohol test and, should he refuse, to prepare a report on his refusal and arrange for his release. The applicant refused to make any statements and continued to behave in an unruly manner, pulling at the officers’ clothing and throwing his shoes at them. The police officers repeatedly asked the applicant to leave the station but he refused to go unless the mayor and the chairman of the Murmansk Duma came to see him.
7.  At 2.30 p.m. the police chief arrived and invited everyone into his office. The applicant verbally abused him and the other police officers, claiming that his arrest had been politically motivated. He again refused to take an alcohol test.
8.  In connection with the applicant’s “inadequate behaviour”, the police chief decided to record the applicant’s actions on video. To that end, he got in touch with a cameraman from the Murman State television and radio broadcasting company (ГТРК «Мурман»­) and asked him to come to the station with his camera. A few minutes later the cameraman arrived and started filming in the police chief’s office. The applicant repeated on camera the same allegations he had made earlier against the police and refused to take an alcohol test. The police chief again told him that he was free to leave but the applicant instead sat at the duty officer’s desk, taking out a drawer and throwing its contents onto the floor. Some of the events were captured on camera by the cameraman, who remained at the police station until 4.30 p.m.
9.  At 5.30 p.m. a presenter and a cameraman from Northern Fleet television (телевидение Северного Флота) arrived at the station. Upon receiving an official authorisation from the police chief, they started filming the applicant, who was still sitting at the desk dishevelled, without shoes on and with his feet on the table, making calls on his mobile phone. The television crew interviewed the police chief and asked the applicant to make a statement but he declined. They stayed at the station for approximately forty minutes.
10.  The applicant’s assistant then arrived and called an ambulance for him. However, when it turned up, the applicant refused to get in it with the doctor to go to the town hospital. The Murmansk regional prosecutor, who arrived at about 7.30 p.m., formally informed the applicant that he was free to go and that he could leave immediately. After the applicant refused to leave and ignored further warnings against him if he did not do so, he was escorted out by two police officers.
11.  The following day, Murman included in its news programme extracts from the footage filmed at the police station. The same extracts were broadcast by the Blits, TV-21 and North-West Broadcasting television companies.
12.  Following a medical examination on 30 April 2003, the applicant was diagnosed as having sustained minor bodily injuries, including bruises and scratches on his face and body. He requested the Murmansk regional prosecutor to institute criminal proceedings against the police officers for ill-treatment and abuse of power. Having investigated the above events, on 7 May 2003 the prosecutor rejected the applicant’s request. The decision was upheld on 24 May 2004 by the Severomorsk Town Court as well-founded. The applicant did not challenge that judgment before the Regional Court.
13.  On 20 May 2003 the regional prosecutor appeared before the Murmansk Duma to deliver the results of the investigation into the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment. He offered to show the footage filmed at the police station on 27 April 2003. Some members refused to watch the videotape but others agreed to it being shown. They watched the videotape in the private office of one member of parliament.
14.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a civil claim against the Severomorsk police chief, the Murmansk regional prosecutor, the State-owned television company Murman and the Blitz, TV-21 and North-West Broadcasting companies, seeking to have the videotaping and subsequent broadcasts declared unlawful and claiming compensation in respect of non-pecuniary damage as a result of the interference with his private life.
15.  On 11 November 2003 the Pervomayskiy District Court of Murmansk rejected the claim. The court found that the broadcasting of the footage could not be attributed to the police chief. The latter confirmed that he had invited the cameraman to the station after the applicant had introduced himself; however, he had not ordered the footage to be broadcast. He also confirmed that the applicant had not realised that he was being filmed as he had been under the influence of alcohol. The court decided that the filming was justified under section 11(15) of the Police Act, as the applicant had refused to produce his identity documents. The court also stated that the footage had not concerned the applicant’s private life but the offences he had committed.
16.  The court further found that Murman had acted in compliance with section 38 of the Mass Media Act, which provided for the right of citizens to receive information about the activity of public officials. The court also referred to section 50 of the same Act in so far as it allowed the dissemination of that type of material under special circumstances; however, it found that the film had not been disseminated. During the proceedings the applicant withdrew his claim against North-West Broadcasting, and the court found that Blitz and TV-21 could not be held liable by virtue of section 57(6) of the Mass Media Act as they had simply reproduced the footage broadcast by Murman.
17.  The court also found that the regional prosecutor had lawfully reported to the Murmansk Duma members, on 20 May 2003, about the findings of the inquiry into the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment. In so doing, he did not breach any legal provision, so the plaintiff had no cause of action against him.
18.  The applicant appealed against that judgment. He challenged, in particular, the court’s finding that the videotaping had been justified under section 11(15) of the Police Act. The defendants confirmed during the trial that they had obtained the applicant’s identity documents immediately after his arrest and that it would not have been necessary to film him for identification purposes. The applicant also stated that his right to respect for his private life had been violated as the footage had been broadcast without his consent.
19.  On 24 March 2004 the Murmansk Regional Court upheld the judgment summarily.
20.  On 27 April 2003 police officers filed with Severomorsk Town Court the administrative offence reports, according to which the applicant had committed offences under Articles 12.26 (“Driver’s refusal to take an alcohol test”), 19.3 (“Persistent refusal to obey lawful police orders”) and 20.1 (“Minor disorderly acts”) of the Code of Administrative Offences.
21.  On 14 May 2003 the Town Court found the applicant guilty of the above-mentioned offences and fined him 1,500 Russian roubles (RUB). With respect to the latter charge of minor disorderly acts, the Town Court gave the following description of the offence:
“On 27 April 2003, at about 2 p.m. Mr Khmel, being in a public place – the premises of the Severomorsk police station – in the presence of police officers and other members of the public, uttered obscenities and disregarded repeated demands by the police officers to stop his unlawful behaviour, thereby committing minor disorderly acts...
His behaviour demonstrated an obvious disrespect for people in positions of authority in the performance of their duties, which has been confirmed by the police officers K., S., U., P., G. and M.”
The Town Court made findings of fact on the basis of the written statements by the police officers and other witnesses and the administrative offences reports of 27 April 2003. Its judgment did not mention any video footage.
22.  On 27 May 2003 the Murmansk Regional Court upheld the judgment, rejecting an appeal by the applicant on procedural grounds.
23.  As the applicant was a member of the Murmansk Duma, in accordance with a special procedure set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure, on 16 July 2003 the Murmansk regional prosecutor requested the Murmansk Regional Court to determine whether there was any indication that the applicant had committed offences punishable under Article 318 § 1 (threatening violence against a public official) and Article 319 (insulting a public official) of the Criminal Code.
24.  On 19 November 2003 the Regional Court concluded that the applicant’s behaviour had contained elements of the above-mentioned offences and allowed criminal proceedings against him to be instituted.
25.  In the course of the proceedings the applicant was represented by a lawyer of his own choosing, S. During the five days of the trial S. was ill and the court replaced him with lawyers A. and L. without having obtained the applicant’s consent.
26.  On 8 August 2005 the Severomorsk Town Court convicted the applicant of threatening violence against a public official (Article 318 § 1) and insulting a public official (Article 319). The evidence before the court included the statements by the victims and the witnesses, the footage recorded at the police station on 27 April 2003 and administrative offences reports.
27.  The Town Court fined the applicant RUB 7,500 under Article 319 but exempted him from criminal liability under that provision as the charges had become time-barred. Under Article 318 § 1 the applicant was fined RUB 30,000. The relevant parts of the judgment read as follows:
“On 27 April 2003 ... while at the police station, Mr Khmel ... uttered many obscenities to [the police officers] P. and S. ... repeatedly asked to leave the police station, Mr Khmel responded with obscene insults to the duty officer M. ... Mr Khmel kicked the officer T. twice in the stomach, causing him visible pain, then pulled at his epaulette and tore it off. This action was accompanied by obscene insults towards T., undermining his honour and dignity as a person in a position of authority ... Talking to the police chief, K., in his office in the presence of his subordinate officers, Mr Khmel, ... insulted and humiliated him, uttering obscenities which caused damage to his dignity and honour and undermined his authority ... When the road traffic officer G. again requested Mr Khmel to take an alcohol test, Mr Khmel uttered obscenities to him ...”
28.  On 29 September 2005 the Murmansk Regional Court upheld the judgment on appeal.